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Holism

From Academic Kids

Holism (from holon, a Greek word meaning entity) is the idea that the properties of a system cannot be determined or explained by the sum of its components alone. The word, along with the adjective holistic, was coined in the early 1920s by Jan Smuts. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Smuts defined holism as "The tendency in nature to form wholes that are greater than the sum of the parts through creative evolution."

Types of holism

In addition to being a general approach or way of thinking, holism can be applied to many different areas of study. Ontological holism, for example, holds that reality is fundamentally made of wholes. Confirmation holism in the philosophy of science, on the other hand, simply means that theories should be confirmed or denied as a whole, rather than in parts.

Holism in physics

In quantum physics, phenomena seem to arise only in systems and cannot currently be explained by the interaction of the system's individual parts alone. To some observers, this indicates that a non-reductive approach is necessary.

Ontological holism

In The Ghost in the Machine, Arthur Koestler theorized that existence consists of a vast hierarchy of nested wholes, which he calls a holarchy. Types of wholes constitute levels of organization of the system. These levels include, for example, quarks, protons, atoms, molecules, organelles, cells, tissues, organisms, populations. Thus, a large-scale body such as the biosphere cannot be understood by only studying the elements, but should be considered as a whole entity, studied through the different hierarchical levels, and with the different relations between the different elements. Some compare Koestler's ontology to the Great Chain of Being.

Systems thinking is closely related to ontological holism. According to systems theory, phenomena such as life, mind and consciousness only arise in systems. This means these things cannot be explained by the study of cells, atoms, or subatomic particles alone, just as the circulatory system cannot be explained by reference to blood cells or muscle cells alone.

Holism in medicine

Responses to holism

Holism, especially in its metaphysical varieties, is controversial. Many scientists and philosophers regard some of these claims as unfalsifiable or less meaningful than holism's proponents do. Others see them as incorrect or as pseudoscience. Some forms, however, like epistemological and confirmation holism, are mainstream ideas in contemporary philosophy.